Means for securing artificial dentures.



E.- BARNES, G. T. WILLIAMS & G. B. REYNOLDS.

' MEANS FOR SECURING ARTIFICIAL DENTURES. I

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 25, 1907.

898,546. Patented Sept. 15, 1 908.

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UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

EDGAR S. BARNES, GEORGE T. WILLIAMS, AND CHARLES E. REYNOLDS, OFSEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

MEANS FOR SECURING Specification of Letters Patent.

ARTIFICIAL DENTURES.

Patented Sept. 15, 1908.

To all whom it may cohcem:

Be it known that we, EDGAR S. BARNES,

GEORGE T. WILLIAMS, and CHARLES B. REY- NOLDS, citizens of the UnitedStates, and residents of the city of Seattle, in the county of King andState of WVashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Means for Securing Artificial Dentures, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention relates to certain improvements in the means employed formounting and securing in place of artificial dentures and comprises theparts and combinations of parts hereinafter particularly described inthe claims.

The object of our invention is to provide means whereby, under certainconditions, artificial dentures may be secured in place and yet bereadily removable at will.

In the drawings we have shown our invention embodied in the form whichis now referred by us and which serves well to illustrate our invention.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation showing the teeth upon one side of ajaw. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a jaw having teeth secured in accordancewith our invention. Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are details on a larger scaleshowing the means whereby we secure the teeth in place, Figs. 4 and 5being sections respectively upon the lines 4, 4, and 5, 5 of Fig. 3.

Our invention is intended more particularly for use under conditionswhere it is very difficult or impracticable to satisfactorily secure afew artificial teeth by the methods now in vogue. Its use enables theteeth to be securely held and yet permits ready removal when desired.Typical con ditions to which it is peculiarly adapted are shown in thedrawings. These conditions consist of the absence of all the molar teethon one side and the absence of all but the rear molar on the other side.Under these conditions we would preferably insert two teeth, A, A uponone side and two teeth A A upon the other side, mounting the teeth upona side upon a common base and connecting the bases upon opposite sidesby a connecting wire or bar B, which is curved and lies at the base ofthe front teeth. The method ofv securing these teeth in place involvesthe use of projectile and retractile pins or bolts which may be made toenter sockets or holes provided in a natural tooth, or a crown or likepart which is permanently secured to a natural tooth. The bolts andtheir sockets maybe interchangeably used upon the natural teeth or theartificial teeth, as best suits the particular case.

Under the conditions shown in Fig. 1 and in the upper half of Fig. 2,that is, where there is no tooth with which to connect at one side, weprefer to use an additional pin and socket, which may be of fixedcharacter, and which extends in a direction differing radically fromthat of the other pin or bolt. By the use of the two pins the artificialteeth bolts connect respectively the artificial teeth (or the base uponwhich they are mounted), with natural teeth, or a crown or like memberfixed to a natural tooth. The movable pin or bolt is preferablyconstructed as shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 4. This consists of thebolt E, having the lateral arm 6, mounted to slide in a suitable casingF, em-

teeth A, A or the base upon which these teeth are mounted. In its princilo and construction this bolt is essentially 'ke the bolt which is usedto secure house doors. The casing in which it is mounted has a downwardextension f, in which the lateral arm e lies when the bolt is projectedto lock the teeth in place. lVe have shown this casing E, and e, asconsisting of tubes 0 en upon their outer side over a segment insu cientto permit escape of the bolt. The socket for the reception of the boltend may be formed either in a filling or inlay in the adjacent tooth T,or in a crown placed upon the tooth root. Considerations of decay forbidforming it in the walls of a tooth itself. Where there is a naturaltooth or a crown, as T back of the artificial teeth, as A A it is notnecessary to employ the supplemental pin C, as is shown in Fig. 1. Thispin C, we prefer to fix in the fixed tooth or crown, and to have asocket, as D, carried by the bar B, which fits over it and preventsmovement from front to rear. Vith a rear tooth, as T against, thesupplemental pin C is not needed.

When the artificial teeth are put in place or withdrawn, the bolts E arewithdrawn, when the whole may be easily lifted out. This permits removalwhenever desired for purposes of cleaning or otherwise. lVhere 1 thereis a back tooth, as T, we prefer to pro may be secured in place. Thesepins orv bedded in or supported by the artificial for the artificialteeth A A to back up vide an additional support for the base whichcarries the artificial teeth. In Fig. 5 this is shown as a pin or armwhich projects over the top of the tooth T. This may be a continuationof the bar B, or entirely independent thereof.

By the means described the use of a plate or partial plate isavoided-and the teeth securely held while being also removable at will.This invention may be applied to either upper or lower teeth.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is 1. A means for securing artificial dentures inplace, comprising a movable bolt member and a socket member therefor,one carried upon the artificial dentures and the other upon the naturalteeth, said bolt member having a side projection for operatingengagement and the bolt guide or support having a recess into Which saidprojection may be placed by turning the bolt, thereby securing a smoothsurface.

2. A means for securing artificial dentures in place comprising a boltmounted to slide lengthwise the row of teeth Within guides carried bythe artificial dentures, a socket member for said bolt carried by anatural tooth, and means for turning said bolt upon its axis and therebylooking it against retraction.

3. A means for securing artificial dentures in place, comprising asliding bolt and a socket member therefor carried, one by a naturaltooth and the other by the artificial dentures, independent meanscarried by the same parts and engageable to prevent moveme'nt betweenthe natural and artificial den tures in the direction of the length ofthe said bolt.

, 4. A means for securing artificial dentures in place, comprising abolt member mounted to slide in sunkenguides in the artificial dentureand in the direction of the row of teeth, said bolt being rotatable inits guides and having a side projection by which it may be reciprocated,the artificial denture having a recess into which said projection may beturned to lock the bolt in place when the bolt end is projected, asocket member for the reception of said bolt end carried by a naturaltooth, an arm carried by the artificial denture and lying alongside anatural tooth or a member carried thereby, said arm and tooth having pinand socket members engageable by movement transversely of the directionof the row of teeth.

5. A means for securing artificial dentures in place, comprisingaboltslidable in the direction of the row of teeth, a pin projectingtransversely of said direction and a socket member engageable with saidpin, said pin and socket member being fixed, one to the said artificialdentures and the other to the natural teeth.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto afliXed our signatures atSeattle,Washington, this 14th day of October, 1907.

EDGAR S. BARNES. GEO. T. WILLIAMS. CHARLES B. REYNOLDS. Witnesses:

WM. E. PARKER, H. L. REYNOLDS.

